Jordan Thompson of Sydney, Australia entered his first round match against Alexander Zverev of Germany at the Japan Open in Tokyo as the heavy underdog. Zverev was at -410, when play started on Monday. However, it was Thompson that came through with the upset, as he beat the reigning Olympic gold medalist, 6-3, 6-4.
A major reason for Thompson’s first round success came down to his serve. Thompson had six aces compared to zero double faults, and Zverev had two aces and three double faults.
This was the second time in 2023 that Thompson beat a top-10 player. He was also victorious in the second round of Indian Wells, where Thompson beat Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6.
Thompson is one of three Australians in the second round of the Japan Open. Alexei Popyrin of Sydney also came through with a significant upset as he beat Karen Khachanov of Russia, the two-time grand slam semifinalist, 6-4, 6-2. Khachanov reached the semifinals of the 2022 United States Open and the 2023 Australian Open. Meanwhile, the fourth seed, Alex de Minaur of Sydney, beat Great Britain’s Jack Draper, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6.
In the third round in Tokyo, Thompson will face American phenom Ben Shelton of Atlanta, Georgia, who reached the semifinals of the 2023 United States Open earlier this year. De Minaur will face Diego Schwartzman of Argentina, the 2020 French Open semifinalist, and Popyrin will face Cristian Garin of Chile. It should be noted that no Australian advanced past the second round earlier this fall at either the China Open or the Shanghai Masters.
Head-to-head, Thompson has never faced Shelton. De Minaur has beaten Schwartzman once. That was a 6-2, 6-2 win in the second round in Queen’s in June. Meanwhile, Popyrin has never faced Garin.
